Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate.

Changes Big and Small

This week we take a journey to view changes at a different levels. You know it’s coming; Bellevue has been in a state of change ever since Bellevue Way was a dirt road through town. It’s actually one of the ideals our city has held to – like it or not – through the decades in an effort to stay ahead of impending changes to the region. The City historically maps out change thirty years into the future. The NE 10th overpass? Planned for decades. All the single-family homes on lots in The Core that are now occupied by skyscrapers? Those houses were marking time as rentals from the 1970s on.

To me, highlighting that change through pictures is one of the most interesting things I do online.

The changes we experience here can put a person either in a state of wonder, or in a fit of head shaking. The changes aren’t always big, but they are changes nonetheless. Thankfully we have a photographic record from 40 years ago that can help us understand what Bellevue was like and – in some cases – where it hoped to go. Tapping into the archives at Eastside Historical Center, I found a building in Bellevue that looks almost the same as it did in 1969, and another location that couldn’t have changed any farther. Let’s start with the Bellevue Park Condominiums:

Bellevue Park Condos, 1969

While I’m sure there are older condos in the City, Bellevue Park across from Bel Square is like the Grandfather of the downtown condos we see today. Living in The Core back then would have been a very quiet experience after 6pm, when all the commuters headed out of town. While I’m not up on all the architectural terms of the day, in my own terms I’d say the Bellevue Park screams “Mid-Century” with its dramatic overhanging roof and muted brown tones. If there was a restaurant on the first floor, guaranteed it would have been upholstered in velvet and decorated in wrought-iron fixtures. In the above 1969 photo I see a stunning parade of Sixties Giant Car Goodness: 1965 Chevy pickup, 1966 Chevy Malibu, 1967 Buick Skylark, 1967 Ford Galaxie and a 1963 Chevy Impala. Don’t forget the VW Beetle; what condo parking lot would be complete without one? It’s amazing to see so little change in the 2010 photo:

Bellevue Park Condos, 2010

The biggest changes we see are the building color and the cars parked outside. The parking lot lines, the bush along the bottom the photos, and the “Bellevue Park” sign are all the same! In order to duplicate the 1969 photo exactly, I would have been standing in the middle of NE 8th street. The 2010 photo was taken from the sidewalk (aka “safer than standing in the road”), about ten feet closer to the building; it’s made from six separate shots that were stitched together in a panorama tool. I actually prefer the darker brown of 40 years ago, but I’m happy to see the building still intact even if it’s a lighter color.

But not every changed parcel in Bellevue leaves the building intact:

Main Street at 108th, 1969

Back in the time when Giant Cars Ruled the Earth, a gas station was a welcome place in downtown Bellevue. There’s a 1965 Chevy at the pumps in this photo taken at the corner of Main Street and 108th Avenue NE looking east; a service attendant in white pants cleans its windshield. Behind it I see what appears to be a 1965 Ford Thunderbird, considered the pinnacle of that model to many T-Bird enthusiasts today. I can close my eyes and smell the gas and tires while hearing the sharp “ding ding” of the bell as another car drives over the black tube at the pumps. Behind the station is the former Sacred Heart Church that has faced Main Street since the early 1920s.

This view cannot be duplicated today, because “Standard” stations have become a rarity. There is one Standard station left in the area, in Eastgate on 150th Ave SE; all the signage looks exactly like Chevron signage, only the word “Standard” is used instead. I have seen no other stations of this type. Here’s another reason why this scene cannot be duplicated:

Main Street at 108th, 2010

The station is gone! I vaguely recall the gas station being there in the early 1990s, likely serving another purpose by then. The building in its place now serves a different kind of fuel, brought down the mountain by the donkey of Juan Valdez. Prior to being a Tully’s coffee shop this 1990s building was a sandwich shop. The former Sacred Heart building is now completely obscured by trees that didn’t exist when the gas station was on the corner. I don’t think this parcel could have changed more drastically than it has.

Bottom line: the change we see in downtown Bellevue can be big or small. But that change is inevitable. Imagine 40 years from now, when my 2010 photos can be sampled as “examples of Bellevue from the early part of this century.” What will it look like then? I can’t say, but I’m pretty sure the City has an idea of how they want it to look!

Next week, we search the archives for another look into the Eastside’s past. Until then, enjoy the view!

Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate.